Andalusian story

I'm staying near Gaucin, a small town of whitewashed houses clinging to the side of a hill in the Andalusian mountains.  I think I've found some kindred spirits here because the place is festooned with yarn-bombing and a multicoloured banner proclaims URBAN KNITTING GAUCIN.

My stitch diary continues to be influenced by things that catch my eye:  bright blue Morning Glory flowers woven into a hedge; undulating hills leading down to the coast and the little box houses of the town glimpsed out of the car window as we make our way up the steep dirt track for daily provisions.

The choice of thread and colour is somewhat limited. I chose to bring a bag of scraps leftover from previous projects. A fellow member of Grassington Embroiderers' Guild swears by this approach. She says that when she attends a workshop she never seems to have what she needs, but if she brings her rag-bag of threads there is always something suitable. I have to agree with her!   It also makes you quite inventive.  The Morning Glory stars are stitched with two stands of cotton, one a Royal blue, the other a deep purple.  I generally continue stitching until I've run out of thread.

Stitch life

Inspired by Claire Wellesley-Smith, I'm keeping a stitch diary of my holiday.  Too much you think?  Actually it's quite nice to creep into a shady spot or the seek the comfort of air conditioning after a hot day of sight seeing and contemplate.  It's been a complete sensory overload in Seville! I can't get enough of the fabulous tiles everywhere I turn.

My first day in Lisbon is reflected by small blocks of yellow, the predominant colour of the city.  The towering Giralda in Seville provided the source for my next stitch entry.  The lattice pattern is stitched in two shades of terracotta as the shifting sun transforms the colours of the bricks. The Alcazar palace blew me away but I took refuge in stitching simple lines of green to represent the beautiful gardens fragranced by myrtle, orange trees and jasmine.  My final day in the city is captured in the simple geometry of Islamic art.

Emotional Repair

This week I attended a masterclass with Claire Wellesley-Smith.  It has been a crazy few weeks of family, work and social commitments and I feel exhausted but a few hours of stitching in the library at Gawthorpe Hall has refreshed me.

Claire's practice focuses on slow stitching as a means of achieving a more mindful approach to work.  The gentle and contemplative way in which she uses and repairs treasured textiles resonates with me.  Finding my own rhythm with a simple running stitch seemed to let me breathe and be myself. 

I started my own slow stitched collage, taking some old ribbons, lace and fragments of embroidery transfers that I found when clearing out Auntie Jean's house.  I've included scraps from my last batch of Devore and a piece of yellow wool from Claire.  It is tacked together with alarmingly-fluorescent green thread, to be replaced with hand-dyed silks and linen over the course of the next few weeks.

The afternoon disappeared in a flash as we lost ourselves to stitching and as we reluctantly packed up our work, Claire offered us a quote from Louise Bourgeois

"Sewing is an act of emotional repair" - how very true! 

The new darning

Life's too short to darn socks but good old-fashioned darning stitch can be put to great use as a filler stitch. 

This folk art peacock was inspired by a worshop taught by Patricia Barratt at Skipton Embroiderers' Guild.  The shape is filled with small blocks of darning stitch - laying down the warp threads with quite a bit of space and then weaving 3 or 4 strands of embroidery thread.  Changing the colour of the warp threads whilst keeping the weft the same will give subtle variations in colour. Changing the thickness of the thread adds texture. 

At around 10 cm square this is a quick and easy project that could be used as an embellishment.

Can you Kantha?

I will hold my hand up now and tell you this is not my own work but that of the fabulously talented Clare Hutchinson, a fellow member of Skipton Embroiderers' Guild.  Clare has good days and bad days, but stitching is her salvation.  

These two examples of her work demonstrate the application of Katha stitching to strips of torn fabric that have been woven together.  One is shibori dyed cloth, the other is conventional patchwork cotton.  

Kantha stitching is a traditional quilting technique which originates from Bengal.  Small running stitches in tightly packed rows create ripples in the fabric.  When the stitches are aligned the ripples are straight, but when off-set or worked in concentric circles the fabric becomes contorted in waves and cones.  

In Clare's samples, she has used a different style of stitch on each square.  With so many squares in her red OTT Bag, she diversified with buttons and scraps of trimmings to create a visual feast!  A truly inspirational piece of work.  You can see it at the Skipton Embroiderers' Guild XL Exhibition which takes place from 7-8th October 2016

Comfort blanket

My stash is getting a little out of hand!  In an attempt to reduce, reuse and recycle I have been dying old blankets.  This was my first attempt at French lavender - which came out more grey than lilac!  When I re-read the instructions I realised that the commercial product was described as unsuitable for wool.  Undefeated, I put my chemistry hat on and decided to adjust the conditions slightly to simulate an acid dye process (about 150ml lemon juice and 60C wash cycle).  It worked like magic and I know have Flamingo pink, tropical green and powder blue in my collection!

I made this lap-top case in a simple envelope shape.  By pairing the pale wool with bright purple thread and fabric it seems to have enhanced the background colour which now appears almost lavender.  More magic!

Just like your mother

I've just finished an apron for Grassington Festival's Array of Aprons which runs from 28th June - 6th July.

The theme is "convergence" which stumped me at first.  As I was sorting through some old photos for a family gathering I realised how much I look like my mother and my three daughters all look like me.   Just like your mother explores how we all resemble our parents in looks, mannerisms or speech.  The line drawings of my Mum, my daughters and me have all been carefully hand stitched using different coloured threads.  The images converge and the edges blur but we retain our individuality. 

The apron has been made from an old tablecloth which seems fitting because some of my happiest memories are of shared family meals.

This is definitely an art apron but if you're looking for something more practical then take a look at The Stitch Society* Yorkshire.  There is a fabulous selection of aprons or you could choose to make your own using the Linda pattern. I made it a couple of weeks ago for my friend Clare.